I cannot believe that I haven’t posted anything on the entire month of October! But hey, I have been traveling the whole time. Writing projects? Yeah, they keep coming. Writing ideas, I can’t keep track ’cause there’s so much. I’m starting the Life Do-it-Yourself series. I’m doing book reviews and travel essays. Yeah, I know, I’m on the verge of going crazy. So what? I live for the moment.

I think that I’m finally getting some direction when it comes to my activities. It’s exciting how my ideas get more unique everyday.

I went to another military training today. It’s mandatory. Fort Hood has nothing to do with it though. I work in a military library so we get trainings every now and then.

There’s so much stuff brewing. I wish I could take care of them all at once. But hey, while I”m at it, why don’t you tell somebody you know that I’m a great commercial writer and we can be friends? Just drop me a line when you get a chance.

Your little author is currently working on several projects:  200 articles for the last quarter of the year, a batch of write-ups for Digimedia, web promotion, new blogs, and an ongoing immersion on adventure books and films.

When I was a kid, I had been inspired by “The Neverending Story” (only the first part) to write my own adventure book. I was only nine! I typed the book chapter by chapter according to where my adventure took me. I glued the pages together — boy was I proud to flip through my very own book! Sadly, I left all my notebooks and drafts back home in Manila where I hope my family kept them throughout all these years. Those are crazy stuff. I swear I never thought of publishing any of my juvenile works. But then again, I could use those as inspiration to relive the adventurous stories I’ve always dreamed of writing.

Now, at twenty-seven, I’m getting the psychological urge to explore what could be. I would consider it even if there is a ton of ideas and activities to do.  Writers, just like surfers,  need to take advantage of the big swell of  sea wave to get the most thrill of something they love to do.  I shouldn’t be any different.

If not the Red Rock cosmic bowling or the Filipino sisig at Salo-Salo up on the north side of the Strip, watching Cirque du Soleil’s KA at the MGM Grand is probably the best part of our summer trip in Las Vegas. KA is an interactive, electrifying, and incredibly talented show. Beware if you’re sitting by the front row seats or the side of the theater. When the crazy tribe comes around stomping, you might just be jolted by one of them!

See my review of Cirque du Soleil’s KA here.

In Vegas, a license plate on a billboard displays: NO1WINS. This poem is an ode to those who spent their summer in the Sin City and went home with lighter pockets!

Day 5 in las vegas
burned out, bummed down
If you do not run home for escape
deluge like the breaking of Hoover Dam

the very blood that flowed and gave life to a dead desert
the dead desert will taketh your life away

Day 5 in las vegas
how do you define greed?
first fight a losing  battle
then score a few punches
Come back and lose your teeth
all for the overrated story of thrill and fun

Day 5 in las vegas
Man’s ultimate quest for financial wealth
ends here.
but Man, there’s an awful lot of good looking girls!

you can’t take them home, says my friend
Joey Bag O’ Donuts?
he comes to las vegas with one nice suit but broke
he leaves with one nice suit and in debt
no Showgirl in tow.

Day 5 in las vegas
Been here and done that so many times
yet the concept stays the same
My question never gets an answer.

Why? why come back?
is it the Glitz? Topless showgirls and circus acts?
millions of machines milking your pocket?
hundreds of Chinese food to pick on?
a new resort to watch out for every eighteen months?
All the lights and sounds and expensive things to buy.

Day 5 in las vegas
burned out and bummed down.
I’m going downstairs to the Wet Republic.
Wear my metallic bathing suit
Walk on the Strip
I may be broke like all the rest that leave the town.
but like all the rest that leave the town
I’m-a get my groove on.

A week long trip to Las Vegas in the middle of August heat. A hilarious night at Comanche Red River casino winning 12th place on free roll tournament where I practically bought no chips. A graduation from slots “prevent-addiction-before-it’s-too-late-class. A recent onslaught of web-related activities. These have all inspired me to create my mini web books (first launch will be about gambling to win). A one of a kind website where unique information is freely shared. It’s not a “life for dummies” or “an idiot’s guide to–” type of literature. It’s a reader’s gem. Look forward to these projects as  I will post their progress in my personal blog.

As for now folks, stay busy as a bee!

Oh, and don’t forget to stretch in the morning as sunshine and worked-out muscles are good for you.

Yesterday I attended a customer service training by Charlie Tyrian of Keep Charging Enterprises. Who doesn’t know this guy? Who doesn’t recognize his rambunctious style? It dawned to me that unless you spoke in front of a hundred or so audience ready to take a siesta in a hot Texas afternoon without any clownish somersaults, then you wouldn’t be as successful a motivational speaker as Charlie.

Not trying to be patronizing, I just started jotting down a few things that I thought were a little interesting and applies to my job at Sheppard. MAKE A DIFFERENCE. That’s only one of a million things you could learn in his seminar. It stuck to me like frozen peanut butter. My head started rolling with thoughts of whether I made a difference in somebody’s life, of whether I made a difference in any person I encountered.

I think I did.

I make my family happy. I make the library patrons feel special by stopping in the middle of putting away books to ask them if they need help with making copies on the machine. I say thank you to everyone who does me a favor. I try to do my best to cooperate, even though people everywhere are different and don’t appreciate it. Of course I’m not perfect, since I scream at my stepson to move the damned old washing machine out of the driveway when I’m pulling out. But at least I’m not a drama queen.

Charlie Tyrian should be proud of me. At the end of the seminar, we all got our own Rhino creed cards to remind us that we should get excited each morning to go through the day, feel happy that we are alive. I already know that, but maybe I should thank him for reminding me. Go Rhino!

It was my birthday almost a month ago. I had taken the freedom to drive around, shop at the mall, treat myself to girly things, and cut my chocolate cake. It was also that day when I picked up a copy of “The End”, the Black Eyed Peas’ latest album. I am a dance music fan and I got caught off guard. My first thought was, “Hey, if I didn’t like this album, then I can give it to someone else or just trade it.”

The Black Eyed Peas has been around for quite a while, you would think the creativity has been sapped out of their motley band. Some of their songs capitalized on Fergie’s vocal prowess. Some really stood out with Will-I-Am’s lyrical genius. A couple odes were even meant to inspire patriotism, such as Apl.de.ap’s rap interludes.

But the album “The End” is such a gargantuan leap from their early releases. Themed around current events and futuristic beats, the songs such as “Now Generation” and “Imma Be” deliver the band’s point of view without sacrificing the sound. There is a hint of techno and electronica in “Rock that Body” (doesn’t it remind you of Daft Punk?). Love songs still are very much a part of the band’s repertoire — with “Alive” being the most endearing. If you’re going to a B.E.P. concert, you certainly would want to hear live-out-loud songs such as “Showdown”, “Party all the Time” and “I Gotta Feeling”.

Fergie did such an awesome rendition belting out old grooves with her fresh, imaginative vocal craft. It’s difficult to miss her style in songs such as “Meet Me Halfway” and “Out of My Head”. But the ultimate number that sealed the B.E.P.’s new album’s success was “Boom Boom Pow”. Imagine a supercharged dance floor with everybody’s feet thumping and bodies “rocking to the beat”. Upon hitting the play button, a hollow, god-like voice (Taboo’s?) creates a chilly atmosphere of floating in outer space. Then suddenly the dance beats are unstoppable.

The Black Eyed Peas’ “The End” album is money well-spent. I hope though the album title is not a bad omen to those who look forward to more body-twitching  B.E.P. grooves. I don’t plan on giving away or trading my CD. Kudos to open minds, cultural diversity, and shaking booties!

People say that as we keep getting older, we grow new connections (dendrites) between our brain cells. In reality, this only applies to people who never stop learning.

Sometimes the written word is not enough. A picture may always evoke a stronger emotion than a sentence.

So I’m growing new dendrites for pictures. I know that being able to “see creatively” has been with me all along. I just never took it seriously.

And why deal with images instead of words this time?

Sometime around 10:30 the other night, my  life has changed.

I figured you could grow more dendrites if you quit sticking your dollars in one-armed bandits hoping they would pay you back.

You could be more creative.  The economy isn’t so peach. I understand why some people could spend hours hoping to win or at least get their money back but what is the likelihood that this is gonna happen?

I really need to mess with something else.  My dendrites could use some growing.

The wanderlust strikes again. It has been barely two weeks  since my sidekick and I fled from the scalding deserts of North Texas to the humid, aqueous beauty of the Panama City beaches. Apparently ten days of roadtripping and living like blessed bums weren’t enough to satisfy the wanderlust. Here we are again, planning our next trip to Las Vegas in August.

I just booked tickets for the Playboy/Moon/Ghostbar Club at the Palms Casino Resort. The whole point is to avoid falling in line for an hour (how unglamorous?) just like we did at the LAX last Spring Break. It can discourage even the most patient partygoer to see how long the lines are in popular Vegas clubs. But in Vegas, all the wait is worth it. When we went to Panama City, we were appalled at how easily we could get into the clubs — especially at La Vela.

God forbid if you ever came into this “hotspot” on any ordinary night. It may be the biggest Spring Break venue for all the bikini-clad guys and girls this side of Florida, but if you’re just looking for a place to hang out and drink a long island iced tea, then scurry somewhere else. Not only do they charge $15 cover charge if you happen to forget your bikini, they also let in barely-eighteen kids with fake IDs.

If dry humping is your idea of dancing,  however, Club La Vela is probably not a bad place to be.

The best part of the evening we spent in that zombie zone was when my hubby found $60 on the floor by the bar when he was ordering some drinks. The cover charge wasn’t really worth paying for the ambiance, but we were happy we got paid for sipping LIIT to the point of intoxication while watching minors debase themselves on the dance floor.

Vegas, of course, has more classy partygoers.  The more we think about it, the more we can’t wait for this next summer roadtrip.

If there is one thing you cannot criticize about a woman’s ways, it’s how she drives. That’s like  provoking a country armed with nuclear weapons. You can tell her that it’s bedtime and you’re too tired for any midnight delight and she’ll curse you for it. But in the morning she will still love you like something happened the night before (when all you did was pass out and snore five seconds as soon as you hit the sack). But when you poke fun at how horrible she drives, then you might as well raise Cain.

Learning to drive used to be so difficult until my brain started figuring out how things really worked. The more I drove, the better I got. My first accident which almost caused me my license was when I turned too fast on a neighborhood curve and hit a fire hydrant. I swore. I thought that would be the last of my living breath. The car was going so fast but I didn’t step on the brake, since I knew I was gonna make it back on the road clear. It was a quiet Spring day. When I looked back at the scene of the crime, it was all dust and dirt. I didn’t even know there was a fire hydrant until a cop reported it.

In most countries you don’t even need to drive. Where my parents lived in metropolitan Manila it would be a torture to even own a car. It has been forever since I last rode a bus in that city.

But I love driving now. To me, it means freedom and sporting an apple-red sports sedan. I am so in love with my car that I can’t afford to ram another fire hydrant, even if the insurance company pays for it. (My husband said that fire hydrant on York Street is actually mine now. Get that?? That fire hydrant belongs to me!)

I have a lazy left eye (the optometrist called it amblyopia). I didn’t even know I had it till I took my visual test on driving. But that is not an excuse to berate my driving. Do it again, and World War 3 will commence.